i agree. its only worthwhile in conjunction with other teaching methods. in the past, i have taught classes where i wanted to pack in so much information that all we got to do was rote technique and then spar. in hindsight, those classes was some of the more disjointed classes i've ever taught and add to that the fact that my students didn't really gain anything of substance that they could apply.

recently, i have found drilling to drill to be beneficial. I use a set up where me and a partner drill whatever a technique or sequence of moves for 2-3 mins a piece. minimal to no chit chat, just solid foundational stuff that we can plug into our games or fortify our games. after we both had a turn, we positional spar our technique or position for an additional 2-3 mins a piece, then we either switch partners or move on to different technique. an hour of that feels worse than an hour of sparring and the benefit to your game is greater, imo.

finally, being one of the few black belts in my gym, i try to set the example that you have to put in some real dedicated work to see gains. i grab the most lost looking white belt and drill technique with them. i don't talk much, just drill. by the end, we're both pretty lathered up and ready to move on to positional sparring.